Bridge Tolls likely going UP

11/10/09

By Marc Garman

Problem comes along you must TAX IT. Tax it good. Yup, folks its true. The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) is considering an increase in the tolls on the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge,San Mateo-Hayward and ZAMPA-CARQUINEZ bridges.

There are several proposed increase options being looked at, but the skinny is that we are likely to be paying $5 or as much as $6 to cross a bridge in the Bay Area as soon as July 2010. And to think. I remember the good old days when folks got uptight about a toll increase from 25 to 50 cents. Guess I'm showing my age.

Here's the info from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission website:

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/info/toll_increase.htm

• Option 1: $5 toll for autos and motorcycles, $3 for carpools and $6 per each additional axle for trucks;

• Option 2: $5 toll for autos and motorcycles, $0 for carpools and $10 per each additional axle for trucks; or
  

• Option 3: Same as Option 1 for six bridges except for San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which would charge $6 for autos and motorcycles in peak hours and $4 for autos in non-peak hours (M-F), and $5 for autos on weekends.

Four public hearings will be held in November and December to take public comment on the options. BATA Commissioners will weigh this public comment in their decision on a toll increase, scheduled for January 2010. The hearings will be held on:

Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at 1:30 p.m.
Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter — Lawrence D. Dahms Auditorium
(across from the Lake Merritt BART Station)
101 Eighth Street, Oakland, California

Tuesday, November 17, 2009, at 6:30 p.m.*
San Mateo City Hall — City Council Chambers
330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo, California

Thursday, December 3, 2009, at 6:30 p.m.*
Concord Senior Center — Wisteria Room
(located in John F. Baldwin Park)
2727 Parkside Circle, Concord, California

Monday, December 7, 2009, at 6:30 p.m.*
San Francisco State University — Downtown Campus
835 Market St., Room 609
San Francisco, CA

*Note: This hearing will feature a short open house (from 6:30 to 7 p.m.) and a staff presentation (beginning at 7 p.m.) prior to taking public testimony.

Written comments will be accepted until 4 p.m., December 21, 2009; written comments should be submitted to the BATA Public Information Office at 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, California, 94607-4700; or faxed to BATA at 510.817.5848; or sent via e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

After receipt and review of public comment, BATA is scheduled to consider the adoption of a revised toll schedule at its January 2010 meeting. View an updated list of meeting dates (meetings are posted to the schedule approximately one month prior). For more information, call the BATA Public Information Office at 510.817.5757.

Comments

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James Sexton   |November.23.2009 Bay Area Citizens! The new bridge tolls will wreck our economy even further here in the Bay Area and further weaken our home prices here in Vallejo. As a Vallejo resident and homeowner here in Vallejo since 2006, I cannot afford to lose any more. I drive a motorcycle and save on tolls and help the environment by getting 52 MPG. Tolls for trucks will DOUBLE or TRIPLE under BATA'S plan-the impact will be passed on to the consumer at your local grocery store, department store, etc. I am working on getting a petition online to oppose any further bridge toll increases from BATA and will have it posted before Thanksgiving. More information to follow....

tramky   |November.20.2009 This toll increase only serves to further isolate most of Solano County from the East Bay & San Francisco, both financially & geographically. Under this toll scheme it would cost me $10 to travel from Vallejo to San Francisco--just in tolls!! Outrageous! One clue: the salaries & benefits of the bridge employees need to be cut by 50%. It is the case that the wages paid to these people are OUTRAGEOUS and, and with most government employment, unsustainable. Here's a further clue: The Martinez & Carquinez bridges should be FREE. It would give the Solano County economy a boost

Anonymous   |November.16.2009 MTC - November 2009 Bay Area Housing and Transportation Affordability: A Closer Look (PDF) http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/Transpo_Housing_Affordability-ExecSumm.pdf

Anonymous   |November.15.2009 11 Reasons To Take The Bus Instead Of The Car http://www.pinstripe.com/utilities/green/185-bus-not-car-reasons

Mr. :)   |November.11.2009 Funny they didn't bring this up before the vote on raising the UUT.

Inigo Montoya   |November.11.2009 When I first moved to Vallejo a million years ago, toll was 35 cents and a lane or two had baskets where you tossed your coins. Is this increase to $5 a foregone conclusion? Will opposition even matter? I'd like to participate in an email opposition campaign, but am I just wasting my time?

GET THIS   |November.11.2009 One of the reasons the tolls keep going up is to pay for the toll takers salaries and benefits. I know, here we go again with salaries and benefits. You can not believe what toll takers earn as well as the upper mangement folks. Back East you throw your money into a receptable, there are often no toll takers to accept your money. A camera takes a picture of your license plates and a fine is attached to your registration. Works just like toll roads in So. Cal. Lets look at what it costs to pay all the toll takers and mangement for all the bridges and see exacting what we are paying for. After the bridges were paid for, the toll was suppose to go away or be lowered just for maintenance of the bridges...

Julio Mestres   |November.10.2009 Please remember the toll increase from $1 to $2 was temporary as we were all told. So will this increase. It is all temporary until the next increase which will be temporary too. You guys don't get it, you only give it.

Firebug   |November.10.2009 I suspect these bridge tolls and their never ending increases $2 to 5$ in 10 years are a big reason we cannot seem to pass a 1 percent sales tax here in Solano County for the betterment of our roads and highways. Many Solano County commuters are bashed twice with two bridge tolls, and with no BART incentives from Solano County taking BART to our destination is not the money saver it is from other Counties.

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